Most of all “dropouts” from different groups or religions live without fanfare after their exit. Very rarely occurs the phenomenon of the “career dropout”, which manifests itself for various reasons in the media. You have to call to mind that it is a Career Ex​​-Member in these reports, however. They write a book from outside the group about the group. This role is for their new identity and financial success.

In his book the career dropout, Robert Pleyer, has now presented great detail to the public. For twoyearshe hascomeagain and again in the media to make hisdropoutexperiencesknown, mostlyunder a false name. In Focus, in the Spiegel, andin severalRTLreportshetriedto blackenthe“Twelve Tribes” andtake revenge.

Through the“sensational” descriptionsof thismoroseman whosewifehas remainedinthecommunity, he has spread a completely falsepicture of lifeintheTwelve Tribescommunities.No onereported thatthere are hundredsof satisfiedmembers, including manyyoungpeople whohave grown upinthe“Twelve Tribes“. Also they did not reportthat there are otherformer members whofound that their life in the Communities did not fit the“sensational” reporting.Effectivemediasellonlystories thatseem soexaggeratedandextremelydramatic.

The phenomenon of“sect–outs” described byreligious scholarsandreligious sociologistGeraldWillms,and his observationsvividlydescribeexactly howsuch “horror stories,” as Pleyer’s are of the Twelve Tribes,emerge:

“It is clearly seen how firmly anchored the belief in the cult stereotypes and “brainwashed followers” in the public is, by the fact that it is not the current but the former followers that are being perceived as representatives of “cults”.“

”The dropouts that occur as principal witnesses are actually only those who are willing and ready to stand publicly and resolutely against their former community of believers.

“And in this role as apostates they are not even representative dropouts, because every year leaving thousands of people from myriad reasons “their” religious community. A percentage very close to 100 does so without any side effects and completely “silently” because their actual experiences have nothing to do with the clichés mentioned above. These people are actually representative drop-outs, but they never find media attention because the media is not interested in something ordinary.”

Quotes from the book of the religion scientist and sociologist of religion, Gerald Willms, The Wonderful World of Cults, From Paul to Scientology, 1st edition 2012, pp. 275,276.

We actually do notwant to defendagainst thehostileaccusationsof the mediaat this level. But for thosewho want to getan objective viewandpreferscientific studies toRTLreportsas asource of information, weofferthe following reportof a universityprofessor, SusanJ.Palmer, who’sknownas the leadingexpertin this field. She is arenownedscholar andsociologist of religion, who has, among other things, researched the Twelve Tribessince1987. She has made numerousvisits to thecommunitiesaround theworld.

Here are some excerptsfrom anaffidavitthat this scientist has submitted to the courtsandoffices of Germany:

Affidavit ofSusanJeanPalmer

I‘m AffiliateAssistantProfessor at ConcordiaUniversity,Montreal, where Ihave taughtfor over twenty years. I’m alsoa member of thereligionfaculty ofMcGillUniversity, whereI am workingas a researcher on a project funded by the SocialSciencesand Humanities ResearchCouncil (SSHRC). Iama sociologist of religionand authorof ten books, all studiesofnewreligions.

Since 1987,I have conductedtheTwelve Tribes,and visited their communitiesinVermontandMassachusetts(USA); in Winnipeg(Canada); inSus(France); and inBavaria,Germanyand the CzechRepublic. Within academic circlesIamrecognized as the foremostauthorityon thisnew religiousmovement. I havewritten several encyclopedia entriesas well asbook chaptersandpeer-reviewed journal articleson theTwelve Tribes,ortheMessianicCommunitiesandtheNortheast KingdomCommunity Church, astheyused to be called. Mypublished writings ontheTwelve Tribesare listed at theend of this document. TheTwelve Tribesis only one of17new religiousmovements (NRM) that I have researched, using standardsocial scientificmethods of qualitativeresearch;field researchandinterviews, etc., as can be seen on my Curriculum Vitae.

[…] Sociologists who have studied patterns of defection in new religions (see Stuart Wright, Leaving Cults, and Helen Rose Ebaugh, Becoming an Ex: The Process of Role Exit) have found that people leave NRMs (new religious movements) for a variety of reasons.

This pattern holds true for young defectors from the Twelve Tribes. My impression is that second generation apostates describe happy childhoods, but felt as young adults that life in the Twelve Tribes was too restrictive, and they wished to explore the world. Some of them went through a crisis of faith, or a disagreement over policies or changes within the organization, or didn’t like the repetitive menial work they were assigned. Other researchers studying the Twelve Tribes have found similar results. While no child enjoys being spanked, of course, this seems to be a very minor issue for the youth who have defected…

… on the basis of my first-hand research experience, and on data gathered by other researchers in the field, second generation members of the Twelve Tribes who had left the group complain very little about spanking. It is an interesting fact that there has been a high defection rate among second-generation members in the USA.

Children live with their parents and siblings and enjoy warm, close family relationships. They are surrounded by a pleasant, sensual environment, close to nature in Victorian renovated houses, with large kitchens and excellent food, beautiful restored or hand-crafted furniture, hand-crafted clothes. They have animals to take care of, and music, songs and dance are daily activities. Their education is adequate for the work they will do in the future in their intentional communities; farming, construction, farming, cooking, crafts, car repair, etc. While higher education beyond the high school level is not encouraged, nor customary, the Twelve Tribes youth embark on apprenticeships of their own choice. Some of them have developed entrepreneurial skills and have started new, successful businesses…

[…] the category of what sociologists call the “apostates’ atrocity tale” (see David Bromley (ed.) The Politics of Religious Apostasy, Praeger, 1998). It is comparable to the famous 19th century piece of anti-catholic propaganda, Maria Monk’s Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk, or, The Hidden Secrets of a Nun’s Life in a Convent Exposed. In this lurid book, published in January 1836, Monk offers a preposterous description of a “typical” Montreal convent as a prison for nuns who are continuously raped by the priests in the seminary next door, who enter through an underground tunnel. Unwanted babies are baptized, then buried in the convent’s cellar.

Obviously, over the centuries there have been nuns and monks in the Catholic Church who have broken their vows of celibacy, and perhaps some crimes of infanticide, but this is hardly a realistic portrait of monastic life – or of the larger Catholic community. The point is, this kind of propaganda is often generated when a minority religion is in conflict with its surrounding society. We find similar apostates tales written by former Mormons, Amish, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Muslims, Orthodox Jews, etc. Mary Dyer, a 19th century “career apostate” who wrote inflammatory pieces against the Shakers, such as A Brief Statement of the Sufferings of Mary Dyer (1822), is a famous example of this pattern.

In my expert opinion, it is an unnecessary violation of the rights of the children and of the parents to separate them since the doctors found no evidence of abuse after the September 2013 raids.* I have studied similar raids of other minority religions and know from experience and research the damage suffered by many children similarly situated as these Twelve Tribes’ children.

To conclude, it is surprising that the Family Court would rely on an anonymous memoir posted on the internet rather than on carefully researched social scientific studies of the Twelve Tribes published in reputable journals and publishing houses (like Oxford University Press and Rutgers University Press). Why would an anonymous author who is an ex-member be considered as more reliable than a scholar with a Ph.D. who teaches in universities?

And finally

Another exampleof a typical“dropout report” from a“dropout“ofthe CatholicChurch. Notice that “Die Welt” includes Roman Catholics in the pejorative phrase “fundamentalists and cult dropouts.”

Religioncanmake people happybutalsodraw out lots of anxietiesorguilt feelings. Former fundamentalists and cult dropouts tell about their experiences during a meeting in NRW.

Translation continued:

He canstill rememberthat daymorethan a decade ago, when he withdrewfrom the CatholicChurch. Thefeeling to finallybe free, overcame him. As he satbythepublic authorityin the car, he enjoyedthe view of thepeaceful, quiet winter landscapein theHunsrück. But thenthe fearroseagainwithin him. Ifheshouldnowoff the road, that would not bethejust punishmentof God?

The man speaking here is Mark, who does not want togive hisreal name.Heis 47 yearsoldandonceburnedfor his faith. Over the years hehas acquiredecclesiogenicneurosis–a neurosisstemmingfromreligious ideasand ecclesialsocialization. Psychologistsuse the termforpeople whohavedevelopedthrough their faithstrongguiltfeelings, compulsions, orfrigidity.

In Marklaterdepressionwere added.Thecauses maybe complex. But one thingis certain:His faithdid not helphim tocope with life. On the contrary. “I have beenabusedmentally,” says Markus. His handstrembleas hetells his story, ashe feltthe wrath of Godstillin the neck. Or atleastthosewho think theyannounceit.

Walking by Faith in Germany, Part 3

Through the contact of old friends, two of our number were inspired to go out walking in Germany. These friends had heard of what we have been going through being persecuted by the state for our religious beliefs.

As you will see, it is rare when people meet us personally that they are able to believe any more the lies and slanders about us. See, when we are no longer “objects” to them, but real people who obviously love and care for others, their hearts open up.

Here is the brief story of a recent walk of faith in Germany of a special young couple from the Community in Wörnitz.

…Participating in our suffering, our friends encouraged us to endure.

Fast forward to June 2014 when C. sent an e-mail saying that B.’s birthday was going to be the following weekend. She suggested that it would be wonderful for B. if we could be their surprise guests. This prompted us to get on the road.

After asking all kinds of people at the Wörnitz rest area for a ride, finally a car pulled in and Barak said, “Probably this is our ride.” It turned out to be our ride… with a nice married couple from former East Germany. We had a lot to talk about, even about our situation with our children. They extended our conversation long past our arrival and said that if they saw us again the next day (our day to return home), they would pick us up again.

After many futile attempts to hitch a ride, Barak approached a married couple. They showed themselves interested, even intrigued by us. “Hey, we had already wondered whether you two might be Christians,” the lady commented. They swiftly cleared space for us in their car. They were curious as to what we were doing and where we were going. “Oh, you don’t even know the street address of your friends. Hmm, I can send them a text message to find out. Just give me their cell phone number.” “Oh, yes, thank you so much.”

It turned out she was an up-and-coming teacher and he did computer work in the advertisement industry. They were shocked to hear about the situation with our children and totally sympathetic about it. Without us even dreaming of it, they went out of their way to drop us off right at C. and B.’s house.

Barak and Shalhevet

Once there, we were welcomed in the circle of B.’s family, a Christian friend of theirs, along with a Mormon couple from Utah. C. and B., along with their Christian friend, stood out to us by their sincerity to want to follow the Word. They expressed much care, hospitality, and friendship to us. They are at a point in their life where they want to get out of their rut, get out of their rented apartment with a restrictive landlord, and move into a bigger place where they can have an open house. They can even see us moving in with them. “I can share my room, even sleep in a bunk, if you two move in,” C. said from her heart. B. insisted on driving us to our next destination.

Before we arrived at our next stop, a Christian family, I was getting a little nervous, and my heart was full of anticipation of seeing them again after four years. When they were coming towards us in their courtyard, I had to cry. I was wondering why, but it was because my heart recognized them as two very honorable people, hopefully our future brother and sister!

Our time with them was marked by friendship, hospitality, and heartfelt conversations for seven hours straight. It was confirmed in us that their hearts are the same as ours. They also had experienced very humbling circumstances making them very desperate altogether and wondering how much longer they’ll be able to endure in Germany. Most recently, she had been agonizing to find a real purpose for their seventeen-year-old sons during the coming six-week summer vacation. We were able to tell her we had that for them. So now they are invited. They accompanied us to the nearby rest area where they talked and waited with us until we had our ride. What friends.

Barak squatted down to listen to a young man passionately playing his guitar on a lawn. There was no car anywhere near. Minutes later another young man (they had just met each other) returned from the restaurant and sat down. This eighteen-year-old man was willing to take us to the next rest area. The first man was a traveler and a dreamer and very tender hearted.

He thankfully took Barak’s invitation and was going to visit us. The second man was very open and revealed his entire private life to us. Once at the next rest area, he just parked his car there to continue talking with us until we had our next ride almost an hour later.

A businessman Barak approached pointed to his full car. But Barak was sensitive enough to feel that the man was actually open to suggestions on how to clear some space to fit us in. Barak helped him reorganize his car until there were two extra seats. It turned out that this man had been a monk for eight years until he had seen enough of the relationships among monks.

The family he started lay in ruins now as he and his wife had separated after seventeen years. All the while his heart had remained tender, so that he received our invitation and maybe even a flicker of hope for his life. Also, when the subject of our children came up, he had a lot of sympathy for us knowing from his own experience how much injustice there is in Germany.

It was starting to get dark (as walkers know, time to get home or find some shelter) when we approached someone with an alternative-looking truck. Without any hesitation he consented to taking us. Wow! We are still going to make it home tonight. “You two are lucky because I often take hitchhikers, but normally a friend of mine would have come with me. Today she got ill, so here you are.”

When he heard of our plight with our children, he got riled up and shouted, “Those are Gestapo methods!” He himself tries to stay out of mainstream society as much as he possibly can. He took us to a parking lot five minutes from Wörnitz where faithful Tahar Takif came to pick us up even though it was after 11:00 pm.

We definitely felt strengthened in our faith, cared for by our Father at every step of the way, and were surprised how many people sympathized with us and really wanted to talk with us. It was clear our Father had picked them to pick us up.

Even thoughHerrKuhnigk isn’t worthy of a response to hischeap propaganda (lies movie),for thoseviewers who areinterested in the truth, we have this response.

All things in common

Life in thecommunities of theTwelve Tribesis the natural consequenceof our faith.For this reason,we look to theWord of God, the foundation of our belief, to guide us in regards to our finances. The Bookof Actsdescribes the life ofthe early church. There we canseehow thefirst ones who came to faithdealtwith the matters ofownershipand income; as described in Acts2:44:

“So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food; with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:41-47)

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet. (Acts 4:32-36)

Theywere of one heartand one soul. Nobodyviewed their belongings as their personalpossessions, but rather as being shared in common. ‘And what money was there,wasdistributed so thatthere was noneedyamong them.‘ So theyvoluntarily refrained from owning their own possessions and rather practiced a community of goods, so no onehad to suffer the lack of anything. It isa way of lifein whichthere are neither rich nor poor in whicheveryone comes voluntarily and no onetakes advantage ofthe other.

InGermany today, however, only one type of community of goodsis recognizedand that isthe family. People can legitimately form a family, and view all of their income as one. That’s a good thing peoplecan do this.The stateeven givesthefamilytax benefits that single persons do not have.Since we also live togetherlike one big family, we havegiven much thoughtandlong soughta structure that we can work in the business structures of Germany and how we can organize ourselvesinaccordance with the existing taxlawsinGermany. The form we have today is due tointensive professional consultation (people well-versed in these areas).

Translation

“The Community in Klosterzimmern has a transparent and common structure for their entrepreneurial pursuits that reflect their faith. The operative businesses of the Community in Klosterzimmern are handled through these two companies: Unternehmen Baufach GKR GmbH and Co. KG sowie Naturalich Gemeinsam GmbH and Co. KG. In both businesses die Custos GmbH acts as a complementary company. According to the faith of the Community the operative entity, Unternehmen Baufach GKR GmbH and Co. KG as well as Naturalich Gemeinsam GmbH and Co. KG the people in the community are the same as those in the businesses.

“Above these entities is the GKR Gemeinschaftsverwaltungs-AG. This company is non-operational in business. More so it is responsible for the administration of the income and its distribution. ~ Lawyer E.”

Whoever has a little bit of knowledge in this areaknows thatcompanieslike ours,inwhich everyone is the owner and there areno employees, pay considerably more taxesthan conventional businesses withemployees. Therefore,whatsome people calla“confusing company structure,” is actually just an attempt to live according to the Bible and still fit into the norms and responsibilities of German society. Ifanyone knows abetter solution thanour currentapproach, hecan feel free tocontact us.We would be very happy to have help with this.

Fall aways…

Now in every group there are always some fall aways like CRand RP, who, like manybefore them,forunfounded reasons, try tomovebothourcompanyand the community intoa bad light because they are disgruntled.

Here is an excerptfrom the book, “The Wonderful World of Cults,” by Dr. disc. pol. GeraldWillms

Translation

“Therefore, the victims/crown witnesses/apostates are representative only with a view to the confirmation of the sect stereotypes – and it is not rarely to be noted with what an effort an experience is forced into the framework of these stereotypes sometimes. Thus, for instance, a social obligation then taken on within the community in hindsight is interpreted as “totalitarian coercion.“ Such a perception is one thing, but such an interpretation obviously is done in complete ignorance of the difference between a social obligation taken on by oneself and “totalitarian coercion.“ Such interpretations are particularly hair-raising when self-proclaimed “sect experts“ take such trains of thought further, e.g. comparing the innerscientologic facilities of rehabilitation with Stalinistic Gulags or the National Socialist concentration camps. Other people have been thrown in jail for this undoubtedly original way of relativizing history. But again: it’s not the subjective experiences that need to be questioned, but the partly hair-raisingly, naive notion that the personal fate could be made adequately understandable only with standards and terms of world political relevance.”*

One shouldinternalize this and begin to understandwhat‘s really going on.

Moonlighting and child laborarenowthe subject

And again Herr Kuhnigk is using the sameprimitivemarketingstrategyas in all hisfilms.

Moonlightingis a problem we are aware of in today’s society.When wehelpedour neighborsin the early80’sin France (bringing in hay), we always had our children with us.We would organize our children into groups that would walk in front of the tractor gathering the bales (rolling them together from multiple rows). By doing this, we minimized the use of the tractorand sincewe also had15 menthat loaded the bales onto the wagons, bringing in the haywent muchfaster than normal.This neighbor, a great horsefarmer, was delightedhow welleverything went, and especially that the childrenwere involved.With fondnesshetold of thedays whenall the familieswent togetherto the fields.This was such a great timefor him as well as us and our children – who had a lot of fun. Unfortunately this is now over because we wouldn’t stop helping him and it got to the point where he couldn’t accept our help any more.

After theiracademic classes, our children love to spend time with theirparentsand are happyto participatein community life. This cannot be compared to child labor.

The essenceof our faith, our motive to share everythingwith each other, is contradictory to any kind ofexploitation.And it isalso clear thatthis can only functionon the basisoffree willand mutual trust.For this reason,our community isnotorganized asa formal organization or as a legal person,association, etc. Wetrust each other.

Wetry to make this very clear to all those who are considering our life. Unfortunately, despite our earnest efforts and their own testimony, not everyonewho joinsour communityhas revelationabout these things.We can only takepeopleattheir word. Even though those who eventually become apostates seemingly believe everything we believe, andsay everything we say, they apparently never had, orat least no longer have,the samerevelation.Therefore itdid not gowell for them. Regrettably,they hadno share in thereward,butlearnedwhat all learn who do things without revelation(Proverb29:18). Without revelation you can’t be a son, but only a slave. Revelationor notis the difference betweenservantsor slavesand sons.The slavedoes not remainin the house, but the son endures forever(John8:35).

All of a sudden they complain thattheyget paidnothing. The funnything is thatno one getspaid anythingfrom the community,andthey knew it would be that why and why it would have to be that way (according to our beliefs).

Allproceedsweearngo intoa common fundfrom which theneeds of all arecovered.Whoeverhasno revelation about this will never be content with this wonderfulway of caring for other people. Therefore, inevitably, they will leave. Which is fine, but then to turn around and tell stories and slander the truth are only the actions of those who are offended.

The failure to behonest with yourselfandtake responsibilityfor your own actions leads to estrangement.

As already mentioned,the social scientistDr.disc. pol. GeraldWillmsdescribesthis phenomenonin his book, “The Wonderful World of Sects”:

“When someone is falling away from a “so-called cult”, the subjective experiences gained there are often pressed intothe pattern of thegeneralstereotypesof cults.For example, a social obligation of the Community is interpreted then in retrospect as a totalitarian force.”

Therefore,apostatesare not representative of faith communities, but only of thewidespread cult stereotypes.

The statement thatJ. K.was working on our construction sites at age fourteen, as he said in “Germany Undercover”is a lie, which is very easy to refute. We got his family a visa to come to the United States, where the whole family remainedfor 3 years. At 14,he was still inAmerica. We have the entry andexit stampsin our office.Also whatRobertsays aboutour sistercommunities,thatthey sendillegal workersonourconstruction sites, is false.The Spanish,the French, andthe American companieshaveworked on manyofourconstruction projectsas subcontractors… and we have worked for them as well — all perfectly legal.

It issimply amazing howpeople dobusinesswith lies.

In theWord of Goditisdeclared:

An evildoer listens to wicked lips, and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.(Proverbs 17:4)

*Willms adds this comment, too, after the above quote:

“The only thing that is really always comparable with the crown witnesses is their self-perception as (innocent) victims and their desire – which often goes along with that – to at least point out the (guilty) “offenders,“ or to expose the evil machinations of the “sect,“ to publicly ostracize or even deliver them over to punishment. But just as little as you should ask fresh divorcees what they generally think about marriage, you also shouldn’t ask “apostates“ about the community that they left during a quarrel or which simply kicked them out, not seldom even against their own will. And the people least to be asked are those who see themselves in the now terminated relationship as blameless victims and who utterly dismiss any share of responsibility for anything which may have transpired. Nonetheless, the existence of such victims is of primary importance for divorce lawyers on the one hand and for sect makers on the other hand.“

More reporters respecting our privacy. One day yours! (5 September 2013)

So there came a reporter and crept into our homes through lies, exploited our hospitality, secretly made films, which he manipulated, and then he released them on television. Such a thing is actually prohibited – against the law.

But recently you could read in the newspaper: a reporter was allowed undercover filming at “Twelve Tribes”. That is, there will be no prosecution. This practice is allowed.

“This is the result we expected,” commented the spokesman of the network. They expected no prosecution, which is not surprising considering the pre-existing relationship.

That reads so easily then, but probably the least number of German citizens are aware of what that really means. One of the constitutionally protected German fundamental rights has been grossly violated!

If all citizens in Germany (as the Basic Law also guarantees) are treated equally, that means in plain text:

A reporter can secretly film in your apartment and place the images on TV and on the Web without your consent – and he can profit from it – without being punished for it. Surely this won’t happen to me, you say to yourself, “I am not a cult member.”

Dear German citizens,

Maybe we should remember the quote by Martin Niemöller, which could go something like this today:

When the police got the cult children

I remained silent,

I was not in the cult.

When it was in the newspaper,

that the reporter was

allowed to publish secret, illegal filming at the Twelve Tribes,

I remained silent,

I did not live at the Twelve Tribes.

When I complained about how I was being monitored,

there was no one left to protest,

because everyone was afraid that they too are being monitored.

(freely adapted from the famous Martin Niemöller quote)

Martin Niemöller

It is true that none of the Twelve Tribes will make a criminal report of this journalist, because we prefer to leave the judgment to the highest Judge who judges righteously. Just know, fellow citizens, judges, and prosecutors:

Diverse weights and double standards, both are abomination to the Lord. (Proverbs 20:10)